UFC 291: Justin Gaethje knocks out Dustin Poirier to claim BMF belt

Justin Gaethje Octagon Interview | UFC 291

Justin Gaethje won the BMF belt at UFC 291 by beating Dustin Poirier with a head kick early in the second round.

Gaethje celebrated his win by doing his trademark backflip. He then explained how he defeated Poirier in the ring, saying he once performed the same move to Rafael Fiziev.

After throwing his left hand, Gaethje knew that Poirier was looking for counters, and he thought that if he faked a counter, he could get him.

“I landed it twice in the first round, but for some reason, it just wrapped around the head that time. Maybe call it luck, I’m down with it,” said Gaethje.

The American fighter is now looking to win the lightweight belt, which will be defended by Islam Makhachev against Charles Oliveira in their upcoming rematch at UFC 294 on 21 October in Abu Dhabi.

“You know what I want to do next? I want to fight for the world championship,” he said. “These guys are fighting in October, and I want to prove I’m the best in the world. Win, lose or draw, maximum effort is what you’re going to get out of me.”

Meanwhile, on Twitter, Conor McGregor called out Gaethje after his victory. The American responded calmly to this challenge, pointing out that McGregor had turned him down six times before. He also accused The Notorious of using performance-enhancing drugs.

“I don’t really care. I fight MMA. I like to fight big fights. I like exciting things. It sounds pretty exciting to me. I’m not gonna fight someone on steroids. I’ve never taken steroids in my life, never will – well, maybe when I retire, I might,” said Gaethje.

UFC 291 was attended by 18,467 fans, breaking the previous record for ticket sales revenue set by UFC 278 with 18,321 spectators.